Mayor, Councillors Push Back on Coming Carding Rules

The London Police Service has released a draft receipt that will be given out to members of the public who are subjected to street checks as of the new year, but there are a number of people who say it isn’t good enough.

Under revamped rules from the province, police officers will not have to state the reason why they’re performing a street check on a member of the public.

Mayor Matt Brown and Councillor Stephen Turner expressed concern and requested a report back to the police services board on the possibility of including a reason in the paperwork.

During Thursday’s board meeting, Police Chief John Pare said the receipt would not include a reason for the stop, saying he made his decision after receiving legal advice which identified privacy concerns.

“I’m not confident that in every way people’s rights are protected, and certainly I think my expectation, the community’s expectation, everyone’s expectation, that any procedure that’s employed by a police department here in Ontario focuses in on ensuring that people’s rights are being protected,”said Mayor Matt Brown.

“In this particular case, without the reason on the form, it’s just something that I can’t support.”

Councillor Mo Salih has been a long-time critic of carding, and tweeted that the Mayor should craft a motion specifically calling for an end to the practice in the city.